Bus service resumes in downtown tunnel

Seattle

The Downtown Seattle Transit Tunnel reopened for bus service this morning, after computer problems caused a shutdown last week.

The tunnel has returned to its regular 5 a.m.-to-7 p.m. weekday schedule, serving 17 King County Metro bus routes and one Sound Transit route to Bellevue.

Since the closure last Wednesday, those buses have run on the street while contractors replaced and tested some allegedly defective circuit boards. The glitch disrupted the tunnel's emergency-control systems, including backup power, signals, elevators and ventilation equipment.

Kent

Police say man who shot intruder had gun permit

A Kent man who shot and killed an intruder inside his condominium Saturday had a concealed-weapons permit, police said.

The 28-year-old homeowner, whose name hasn't been released, shot the unidentified suspect when he returned home about 6 p.m. and saw the man inside, according to Kent police. The dead man, believed to be in his mid-20s, has been identified by the King County Medical Examiner's Office, but officials are still trying to reach his family, police spokesman Paul Petersen said.

Neighbors reported hearing four to five gunshots, but there were no witnesses other than the homeowner and his girlfriend, Petersen said.

After the man was shot, he ran through a broken sliding-glass door and died in the backyard. The glass door was broken before the confrontation, and it's possible that's how the man entered the locked home, Petersen said.

The man who was killed was carrying a satchel-type bag that contained some stolen property from the couple's home, Petersen said.

Olympia

State "super license" to ease Canada travel

Next month the state will offer an enhanced driver's license that eases travel to Canada. You'll need to make an appointment to apply for the license at one of only 11 Department of Licensing offices equipped to provide the special features. The new license with enhanced features will cost $40, or $15 more than the standard fee.

The "super license" will be an accepted form of identification for Washington residents returning from Canada by land or sea. That means it will get you across the border at Blaine or into Seattle on a cruise ship. But if you're returning to Washington by airplane from any country, including Canada, you'll still need a U.S. passport to satisfy federal Homeland Security workers at airports.

The passport requirement for air travel from outside the United States is already in effect. The federal requirement for proof of citizenship and identity at land and sea ports of entry takes effect Jan. 31.

Department of Licensing spokeswoman Gigi Zenk says when border guards scan your enhanced license, your picture and the information on your license will appear on their computer screen.

Portland

Chemical weapons destroyed at Umatilla

The Umatilla facility incinerating chemical weaponry to satisfy treaty obligations says it destroyed the last of the nation's VX-filled spray tanks on Christmas Eve.

VX is an oily, clear liquid that can cause seizures, paralysis and suffocation.

The Army said Wednesday it had 1,018 spray tanks stockpiled. Of those, it says, a Utah facility destroyed 862, and the Umatilla facility 156.

The Umatilla Chemical Agent Disposal Facility is also destroying rockets containing VX. Next on its list are shells and land mines containing VX, with that work expected to end in 2009. The spray tanks were designed to be mounted on planes.

Seattle Times staff and news services